STRANGE STAGE STUDIOS

This will be the most bizarre game of Cluedo you’ve ever played…

In 1943, during the blackout years of wartime Britain, a quiet little murder game was created. A simple system of suspects, rooms, and weapons, all decided by the roll of a dice. It was presented as nothing more than a parlour diversion. But there have always been suggestions that the structure wasn’t entirely original… that it was based on something older, and far less innocent.

Three choices are made. A person. A room. An object. Each one decided by the roll of a single dice. No force. No influence. Just chance.

What follows is perhaps a dark coincidence, yet it becomes more and more impossible. The details are too horrifying to ignore. And then, suddenly… inexplicably… they lose the ability to speak, and a gruesome discovery is made…

One that will leave your audience completely, tongue tied.

Strange Stage proudly presents Tongue-Tied.

A set of utility props designed to be integrated into your existing performances, or to form the basis of something entirely your own.

While the effect comes with a fully realised presentation, the intention is not to confine you to a single story. Instead, this is a framework. In the accompanying material, I take you through the original idea, how it developed, and how it became the routine you’ve just read. The hope is that you will take the same structure and shape it into something that fits your own work.

Whether you are an experienced bizarrist or just beginning to explore this style of performance, Tongue Tied gives you a method and a premise that can be adapted as far as you’re willing to take it.

At the centre of the effect is a custom die, created by the legendary Alan Wong and meticulously aged in the Strange Stage studio. It behaves exactly as it should… until it doesn’t. A forcing die, and yet not. Completely under your control.

A set of Fogel tags are included. These have been in high demand following their use by Jamie Daws in his Tackling Terrifying Taboos academy over at Alakazam Magic. They are time-consuming to produce and rarely available, which makes this one of the few opportunities to obtain a complete set.

The final element is built on a very old and often overlooked principle. It allows you to determine a number using the die, even when it is never physically rolled. A participant can simply imagine the action, forming a two-digit number in their mind, and you will know it. In the routine this determines the final object, but it doesn’t need to stop there. You could apply this to a which hand demonstration with known information, as demonstrated in the work of Adam Dadswell, or take it in an entirely different direction. It’s simple, direct, and very difficult to backtrack. When I perform this, other performers often think I’ve used electronics.

Finally, the reveal draws on an idea I’ve explored in performance, one that appears to momentarily impair the participant’s ability to speak. It is at this point they realise, with some unease, that what they are holding is a severed tongue.

What’s included:

A complete set of props, each item meticulously hand aged, inked, waxed, and treated with a specialised scent to give that familiar musty, timeworn feel.

• A string-tied envelope containing six cabinet cards, finished to give a signature “Victorian lamination” feel and excellent handling.
• Custom forcing die, made by Alan Wong and aged in the Strange Stage studio.
• Six Fogel tags, produced using traditional materials and finishes.
• Police ledger, aged and prepared to reflect period use.
• Newspaper cutting, printed and aged to match the era.
• Tin containing a severed tongue, a museum-quality piece housed in an old chewing gum tin and wrapped in bandages.
• Full video tutorials.

Each set is housed in a presentation box and comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity.

Only 100 sets will be produced, strictly Limited Edition due to the time involved in creating each piece.

Worldwide Shipping is included in the price to anywhere in the world!

Please Note – This item is a PRE-ORDER item and will be shipped at the end of April